Waynesboro council introduces rezoning and conditional-use permit for 232-unit Lou DeWitt apartment project

The Waynesboro City Council on May 11 introduced ordinances to rezone a portion of a parcel on Lou DeWitt Boulevard and to grant a conditional-use permit for a 232-unit multifamily development, actions the council approved on voice votes recorded as 5–0.

Miss Tate, the city planning staff member who presented the item, told the council the request would rezone a 3-acre portion of tax map 41-3-112 from RG-5 (general residential) to Highway Business and would allow a multifamily development in the Highway Business district only with a conditional-use permit. "The project proposes 232 apartments across 4 buildings along with a clubhouse," she said, and described staff-recommended conditions including a required Class C landscape buffer along all property boundaries and a maximum building height of 60 feet under the city zoning ordinance.

Staff told council that public sewer is not easily accessible at the site and that city engineers prefer extending gravity sewer to serve a dense multifamily project. Tate said: "Staff does believe that the project would be more reliably served by gravity sewer," and that an alternative (pump station or forced lateral) could be used only if staff determines gravity sewer is not feasible during site-plan review. Tate also described additional conditions added after the planning commission review: a high-visibility crosswalk on the south side of Lou DeWitt at Bryant Drive, an ADA-accessible landing on the corner of Lou DeWitt and Bryant Drive, pedestrian crossing signals or signal modification if required, and a crossing study as part of the condition.

Applicant representatives — Bill Moore of Westwood Professional Services and Ben Crew of Balzer & Associates — and the developer's representative, Garrett of Thomas Builders, responded at the public hearing. Ben Crew said the team had worked with VDOT and staff on traffic questions and that they would provide pedestrian accommodations and sidewalks on three sides of the development while seeking clarity about signal modifications. Crew said the developer intends to proceed without grants or incentives: "This project's being provided with no grants, no incentive packages from economic development or locality, no state or federal supportive funding," and described the project as private investment.

Developer Garrett described unit-mix plans and recent leasing in a similar project: "We're looking at 111 one-bedrooms, 113 two-beds and 8 three-beds," he said, and gave current market rent ranges observed in the city: a one-bedroom at roughly $1,300–$1,400 and a two-bedroom at about $1,400–$1,500.

Council members pressed the applicant on whether any below-market (affordable) units would be provided. Tate told council staff had discussed affordability with the applicant but had "not received any commitments" that units would be set below market rate. Council also questioned the 60-foot height limit in relation to the fire department ladder truck reach and asked when gravity-sewer feasibility would be decided; Tate said sewer feasibility would be determined during site-plan submission.

Several nearby residents spoke during the public hearing, citing safety and traffic concerns. One resident described local traffic patterns and said, "Have any of you tried to drive from the center of town to the target? It takes 30 minutes," and urged the council not to approve increased density without infrastructure improvements. Others urged the council to require the pedestrian crossing and crossing study as part of approvals.

After discussion, councilmembers moved and seconded to introduce the rezoning and the conditional-use permit ordinance to allow the multifamily development; both motions passed on voice votes recorded 5–0. Introduction of an ordinance is a procedural step; final adoption, site-plan review and any engineering determinations (including whether gravity sewer is feasible) will occur in subsequent proceedings.

Next steps: the introduced ordinances will return to the council for later readings and any required findings; site-plan submissions and engineering work will resolve utility and signal modifications required by staff conditions.